KR20160040678A - Polishing device and polishing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The polishing apparatus 1 includes a processing vessel 10 for charging a workpiece, a fluidization unit for flowing a workpiece in the processing vessel, an abrasive material charging unit 30 for charging the abrasive material toward the workpiece, And a suction unit (40) for generating an air flow in a direction passing through the processing vessel (10) and for sucking and recovering the abrasive material. The abrasive charged from the abrasive material charging unit 30 passes between the workpieces placed in the machining vessel 10 by the airflow generated from the suction unit 40 while contacting the workpiece. Thereby, the workpiece is polished.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus and a polishing method,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus and a polishing method for polishing a workpiece. The present invention relates to a small-sized workpiece.

BACKGROUND ART [0002] The processing of a workpiece is widely used by an air blast apparatus. The air blasting apparatus is configured to remove burrs on the surface of the workpiece, adjust the surface roughness, round it (R machining) by spraying the abrasive material with the compressed air from the nozzle, , Removal of the surface layer, and the like.

There is no particular limitation on the size of the workpiece to be polished by the blast machining apparatus, but recently, a demand for polishing a small workpiece is increasing. For example, in the case where the workpiece is an electronic part, the demand for polishing of a small workpiece is further increased by the spread of a smart phone or a tablet terminal.

The processing by the air blasting apparatus is capable of polishing a large amount of the workpiece at a time, and therefore, the workability is good. However, since the abrasive material is ejected to the workpiece as two phases (solid, solid and gas) together with the compressed air, the workpiece is scattered depending on the size and weight of the workpiece. Patent Literature 1 discloses an apparatus for polishing a small work piece and a polishing method. In Patent Document 1, as shown in Fig. 11, an auxiliary tumbler charged with a workpiece is charged in a tumbler of a tumbler-type blasting machine, which is commercially available in general use, during polishing, and blasting is performed to efficiently perform polishing It becomes possible to do. However, since the auxiliary tumbler is used, the amount of the workpiece that can be processed with respect to the volume of the tumbler is small. Therefore, a polishing apparatus with high productivity is further demanded.

Further, depending on the shape of the workpiece, such as when the workpiece is very small, when it is flat, when it has grooves, etc., there is a case that it can not be polished satisfactorily by a conventionally known polishing method. For example, when a workpiece having a thin groove is polished by barrel polishing, it is difficult for the polishing medium to enter the groove, so that it can not be polished well.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-301664

That is, in the technical field, there is a demand for a polishing apparatus and a polishing method using a new process replacing the processing using an air blast apparatus.

A polishing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention is a polishing apparatus for polishing a surface of a workpiece, comprising: a machining vessel having a bottom face through which an abrasive can pass and for holding a workpiece on the bottom face; An abrasive material charging unit for supplying an abrasive material toward the workpiece in the machining vessel; an air flow generating unit for generating an air flow directed toward the direction in which the abrasive material passes through the machining vessel, And a suction unit for sucking the liquid.

Due to the suction force by the suction unit, an air current is generated in the vicinity of the processing vessel and inside the processing vessel toward the suction unit. A plurality of workpieces are loaded in the machining vessel, and the abrasive charged from the abrasive material dosing unit toward the workpiece charged into the machining vessel is directed to the suction unit by the airflow. The surface of the workpiece is polished by the flow of the abrasive. At this time, the workpiece charged in the machining vessel is stirred by flowing in the machining vessel by the fluidizing unit. Therefore, the surface of the workpiece charged in the machining vessel faces an arbitrary direction, so that the entire surface of all the workpiece can be uniformly polished. In order to efficiently generate such airflow near the processing vessel and inside the processing vessel, the suction unit may be provided with a suction member arranged with a gap therebetween.

The term " insertion of the abrasive material " as used herein means to inject the abrasive material into the workpiece, not simply to discharge the abrasive material to the workpiece in the processing vessel as in the air blast apparatus. For example, when the abrasive material charging unit is disposed on the upper portion of the processing container, it is only necessary to drop the abrasive material naturally toward the processing container. It is also possible to supply the abrasive material into the processing container by sucking the abrasive material in the suction unit. In addition, the abrasive may be fed toward the processing vessel with a weak wind force such that the abrasive does not scatter around.

In one aspect, the fluidizing unit may be a vibrating unit for vibrating the machining vessel, or a rotating unit for rotating the machining vessel with the center (center) of its bottom face as an axis. According to this embodiment, the workpiece can be efficiently fluidized with a simple structure.

In one aspect, the fluidizing unit may further include a flow control unit that changes the flow state. According to this embodiment, the flow state of the workpiece can be changed in accordance with the shape and mass of the workpiece. Therefore, all the workpieces can be polished.

In one aspect, the fluidizing unit is the rotating unit, and the processing vessel may be supported by the rotating unit so as to be inclined with respect to a horizontal plane. According to this embodiment, the workpiece can be fluidized satisfactorily by appropriately selecting the number of revolutions and the inclination angle of the processing vessel in accordance with the characteristics (properties, properties, and conditions) of the workpiece. If the inclination angle of the processing container is selected from the range of 30 DEG to 70 DEG with respect to the horizontal plane, the workpiece can be fluidized more uniformly.

In one aspect, an opening may be provided in the bottom surface of the processing container. In this embodiment, only the abrasive is allowed to pass through the opening of the processing container due to the suction force of the suction unit. That is, only the abrasive in the processing container can be selectively sucked in the suction unit.

In one aspect of the present invention, the opening portion is formed in a mesh-like shape, and the mesh size of the opening portion may be within a range of 70 μm or more and 1100 μm or less. In the present embodiment, since the mesh-like opening has a high opening ratio, it is possible to efficiently generate an air flow in the vicinity of the processing vessel and in the processing vessel toward the suction unit. By setting the mesh size of the opening to the above-described range, the workpiece can pass without passing through the abrasive.

In one aspect of the present invention, at the time of suction by the suction unit, an abrasive material suction portion may be formed in a part of the bottom surface portion of the processing container, through which the abrasive material is sucked into the suction unit. If the abrasive suction portion is formed on the entire surface of the processing container, the flow of the workpiece may be inhibited. By forming the abrasive suction portion on a part of the processing container, it is possible to prevent the flow of the workpiece from being impeded by suction. In one aspect, the area of the abrasive suction portion may be 1/8 or more and 1/4 or less of the area of the bottom portion in order to promote uniform fluidization of the workpiece. In one embodiment, the suction speed through the abrasive sucking portion may be less than 5 m / sec and less than 100 m / sec. Further, in one aspect, the center of the abrasive suction portion may be located at a predetermined angle from the center of the bottom surface portion of the processing container to the rotation direction side of the processing container with respect to the direction of the bottom edge portion.

In one embodiment, an airflow control member for controlling the flow of the airflow for passing the abrasive through the processing vessel may be disposed at the center of the bottom surface of the processing vessel. If the vicinity of the center of the bottom of the processing container is sucked, the flow of the workpiece may be inhibited. In this embodiment, the airflow control member is disposed at the center of the bottom surface of the processing container, thereby preventing the flow of the workpiece from being impeded by suction.

In one aspect of the present invention, the abrasive material charging unit includes a storage tank for storing the abrasive material, an abrasive material charging port for charging the abrasive material toward the workpiece, and a transport unit for transporting the abrasive material supplied from the storage tank to the abrasive material discharge port I do not mind. With this configuration, the abrasive can be continuously introduced into the workpiece.

The transport unit includes a transport screw provided with a spiral wing on a rotating shaft, and an upper surface of a rear portion (rear side) of the transporting screw, which contains the transport screw, Wherein the space in the trough includes a space defined by the transport screw and the trough and a space located in front of the transport screw, (Opening) provided with a punching portion through which the abrasive can pass, between the leading end (front end portion) of the conveying screw and the abrasive material input port, Regulatory plates may be deployed. The abrasive input portion can press the abrasive sent from the abrasive carrying portion to harden and remove the abrasive. At this time, the abrasive particles are solidified. The solidified abrasive material continues to advance further and passes through the regulating plate. Is loosened when it passes through the crushing portion provided on the regulating plate, and is conveyed in a fixed amount to the feed port. Therefore, fluctuation of the volume specific gravity of the abrasive material caused by the gas mixture in the transfer unit does not occur. In addition, the supply accuracy of the abrasive material does not decrease due to uneven conveyance of the conveyance unit. Therefore, it can be supplied to the workpiece in a fixed amount.

In one embodiment, the workpiece may be formed of a hard material. The above-described polishing apparatuses may be used for metal products, such as castings, forgings, and machined products, as well as for non-metallic products such as rubber and plastics. In particular, it may be used for polishing a workpiece formed of a hard material having hard and soft properties, such as ceramics, silicon, ferrite, or a crystal material. In the case of a workpiece formed of a hard material, it may be used for polishing a part used as a small electronic component such as a multilayer ceramic capacitor or an inductor component.

The other method of polishing a side surface includes a processing vessel to which a workpiece is charged, a fluidizing unit for fluidizing the workpiece, an abrasive material input unit for inputting an abrasive material into the workpiece in the processing vessel, There is provided a polishing method using a polishing apparatus provided with a suction unit for recovering a wafer. An air flow generating step of generating an air flow toward the direction in which the abrasive material is passed by the suction unit by the suction unit; An abrasive material charging step for charging the abrasive material from the abrasive material charging unit toward the workpiece in the machining vessel; and a step for supplying the abrasive material between the workpieces charged in the machining vessel And a polishing process for polishing the abrasive material by the suction unit. In the above method, since the abrasive material is not sprayed to the workpiece as in the case of machining by the air blast machining apparatus, the abrasive material and the workpiece are prevented from scattering to the surroundings. In the above-described polishing method, each step may be performed in order, and two or more steps may be performed at the same time.

A polishing method for the other side surface includes a machining vessel having a bottom portion through which the abrasive is allowed to pass and a workpiece to stay thereon and a discharge portion for discharging the workpiece to the outside, a fluidization unit for fluidizing the workpiece, A polishing method using a polishing apparatus comprising an abrasive material charging unit to be charged into a processing member in a processing container and a suction unit to suck and recover the abrasive material, the polishing method comprising the steps of charging a workpiece continuously or intermittently An air flow generating step of generating an air flow directed toward a direction in which the abrasive material passes through the processing container by the suction unit, and a fluidizing unit which fluidizes the processing material in the processing container and, at the same time, A fluidization advance step of advancing the fluid to the discharge portion, A polishing step of polishing the workpiece by passing the abrasive material between the workpieces in the processing vessel; an abrasive material recovery step of recovering the abrasive material by the suction unit; And a workpiece collecting step of collecting the workpiece discharged from the discharge portion. In the above-described polishing method, each step may be performed in order, and two or more steps may be performed at the same time.

In one aspect, the passing speed at which the abrasive material passes between the workpieces charged in the processing vessel can be set to be 5 m / sec or more and less than 100 m / sec.

In one aspect of the present invention, the fluidizing unit is a rotating unit that rotates the machining vessel at its center in the axial direction, and in the fluidizing step, the machining vessel is rotated by 5% to 50% . In this embodiment, since the workpiece can be fluidized efficiently at the time of polishing, uniformity of polishing can be realized without variation in the accuracy of completion for each workpiece.

According to various aspects and various aspects of the present invention, it is possible to provide a polishing apparatus and a polishing method for a small-sized component and a workpiece processed in the polishing apparatus by using a new process replacing polishing using an air- have. In these aspects and forms, the abrasive material is not ejected toward the workpiece as upstream of the meat with the compressed air, so that the workpiece does not scatter out of the processing vessel by the upstream of the meat. Therefore, there is no decrease in product yield due to scattering of the workpiece. Further, since the abrasive does not scatter around, the working environment is not deteriorated by the scattering of the abrasive.

1 is a schematic view showing a configuration of a polishing apparatus according to the first embodiment.
Fig. 2 is an explanatory view showing the shape of the processing container in the first embodiment. Fig. 2 (A) is a schematic view showing a cross section from a side face, and Fig. 2 (B) is a schematic view showing an arrow seen from an AA direction in Fig. 2 (A).
Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a modification of the processing container in the first embodiment. Fig. 3 (A) is a side view showing a case where the side wall is formed by a part of a sphere shape. 3 (B) is a bottom view showing the case where the bottom surface is polygonal. FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view showing a case where a flange portion is provided at an upper end portion.
4 is a schematic view showing the flow of the workpiece in the processing container in the first embodiment.
5 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the abrasive material charging unit in the first embodiment.
6 is an explanatory view for explaining the position of the abrasive aspirator in the first embodiment.
7 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a polishing apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7A is a schematic view showing the entire polishing apparatus, and FIG. 7B is a schematic view for explaining a positional relationship between a first weight and a second weight.
8 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of the workpiece in the processing container in the second embodiment. 8 (A) is a schematic view from a plane, and Fig. 8 (B) is a schematic view in a longitudinal section.
Fig. 9 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of the polishing apparatus in the third embodiment. Fig.
10 is a sectional view taken along line XX of Fig.
11 is a schematic view for explaining a conventional polishing apparatus.

An example of an embodiment of a polishing apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the upper, lower, left, and right directions indicate directions in the figure unless otherwise specified. The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the present embodiment, and can be appropriately changed as necessary.

(First Embodiment)

1, the polishing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment includes a processing vessel 10, a fluidization unit, an abrasive material charging unit 30, and a suction unit 40 as shown in Fig. In this embodiment, a rotary unit 20 is provided as a fluidizing unit.

As shown in Fig. 2A, the processing container 10 is provided with a wall portion 11 and a bottom portion 12. As shown in Fig. The wall portion 11 has, for example, a cylindrical shape and extends from the edge of the bottom portion 12 in a direction intersecting the bottom portion 12. [ That is, the wall portion 11 forms a space on the bottom surface portion 12 from the side portion. The bottom face portion 12 is provided with an opening portion 13. The opening 13 may be partially opened like a punching metal, or may be formed as a whole like a mesh. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2 (B), the bottom surface portion 12 is provided with the opening portion 13 using a mesh-like member.

The opening 13 needs to have a size such that the abrasive can pass but the work piece can not pass through. The mesh size in the case where the diameter of the opening 13 or the opening 13 is a mesh may be in a range of 70 μm or more and 1100 μm or less and in a range of 70 μm or more and 500 μm or less. By providing the bottom portion 12 with the opening portion 13 having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the abrasive material and smaller than the workpiece as described above, the abrasive material is allowed to pass therethrough, So that the workpiece can be retained.

The shape of the processing container 10 may be such that the vertical cross-section is not rectangular as shown in Fig. For example, it may be constituted by a part of a sphere shape as shown in Fig. 3 (A). The term " spherical shape " includes not only a spherical shape but also an ellipsoidal shape. 3 (B), the bottom surface portion 12 may have a box shape having a planar shape having a polygonal shape.

In order to prevent the workpiece W from flowing out of the processing vessel 10, the flange 14 may be provided at the upper end as shown in Fig. 3 (C). The flange portion 14 extends from the upper end of the wall portion 11 so as to be inclined to the inside of the processing vessel 10 more than the extending direction of the wall portion 11. [ The angle formed between the wall portion 11 and the flange portion 14 can be in a range of 90 degrees to 150 degrees, more specifically, in a range of 90 degrees to 120 degrees. If the angle formed between the wall portion 11 and the flange portion 14 is too small, the workpiece W may be caught in the space formed by the wall portion 11 and the flange portion 14. If the angle is too large, The effect of providing the flange portion 14 can not be obtained.

The rotating unit 20 includes a holder 21, a motor 22, and a rotation transmitting member 23 as shown in Fig. The holder 21 has, for example, a cylindrical shape and fixes the machining vessel 10 so as to concentrically surround the wall portion 11 of the machining vessel 10 from the outside. The motor 22 is provided with a rotating shaft that rotates by the driving of the motor 22. The rotation transmitting member 23 has a cylindrical or cylindrical shape and is fixed to the front end of the rotation shaft of the motor 22 so that the central axis direction thereof coincides with the rotation axis direction of the motor 22. [ As the rotation transmitting member 23, a cylindrical member having a large friction coefficient such as rubber can be used. The outer circumferential surface of the rotation transmitting member 23 is in contact with the holder 21 and transmits the rotational force of the motor 22 to the holder 21. [ The holder 21 is supported on a frame (not shown) so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis T orthogonal to the center of the circular cross section. The rotation of the motor 22 is transmitted to the holder 21 via the rotation transmitting member 23 when the motor 22 is operated after fixing the processing vessel 10 to the holder 21. [ The holder 21 is rotatably supported on the table so that the processing vessel 10 fixed to the holder 21 and the holder 21 can be moved in the direction of the axis of rotation axis T or the bottom surface 12 Rotate. The method of rotating the processing container 10 is not limited to the above configuration. For example, as another configuration, it is also possible to provide mountain-shaped teeth on the outer circumferential surface of the holder 21 and to fix the gear that can be engaged with the mountain-shaped teeth to the rotation shaft of the motor 22, 21 and the rotating shaft of the motor 22, and the pulleys may be connected to each other by a belt, and other known configurations can be suitably used.

In one embodiment, the holder 21, that is, the machining vessel 10, can be supported on the rotary unit 20 so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle? With respect to the horizontal plane. As a result, the fluidity of the workpiece W can be promoted by the rotation of the processing vessel 10 and the action of gravity. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 4, the workpiece W loaded in the machining vessel 10 moves along the wall portion 11 of the machining vessel 10 by centrifugal force. When the machining vessel 10 reaches a predetermined position, The effect of gravity becomes large, so that the workpiece W falls down. In one embodiment, such a flow state is adopted. The inclination angle? Of the machining vessel 10 with respect to the horizontal plane can be set to 30 ° or more and 70 ° or less, more specifically, 40 ° or more and 60 ° or less can do. If the inclination angle? Is too small, the effect of acceleration of fluidization due to gravity is small. If the inclination angle? Is too large, the gravity becomes too large with respect to the centrifugal force.

In one embodiment, the rotation speed of the processing vessel 10 may be 5% or more and 50% or less, more specifically 10% or more and 30% or less of the critical rotation number. The critical rotation speed is set such that the centrifugal force applied to the workpiece W charged in the machining vessel 10 exceeds the gravity and the workpiece W is moved to the machining vessel 10 10 without falling from the wall portion 11 of the housing. If the rotation speed is too late, the influence of gravity on the centrifugal force is so great that the workpiece W does not sufficiently move along the wall portion 11 of the machining vessel 10, It is not done. If the rotation speed is too high, the gravity is too small with respect to the centrifugal force, so that the workpiece W that has not fallen while being pressed against the wall portion 11 of the machining vessel 10 is present, .

The workpiece W passes near the center of the bottom surface portion 12 when falling. It is not preferable that the flow of the work W is disturbed because the flow of the work W, that is, the stirring, is performed by the drop. The air flow control member 50 may be provided when the flow of the falling is disturbed and the stirring is inhibited by a suction force which will be described later at this point. A suction force is generated in the vicinity of the center of the bottom surface portion 12 of the processing container 10 by attaching a disc-shaped member as the airflow control member 50 to the back surface of the bottom surface portion 12 I did not make the configuration. The diameter of the airflow control member 50 may be in a range of 10% or more and 40% or less with respect to the diameter of the bottom surface portion 12. [

As shown in Fig. 5, the abrasive insert unit 30 includes a storage tank 31 and a transfer unit 32. As shown in Fig. The transport unit 32 includes a cylindrical trough 32a closed at both ends thereof, a transport screw 32f enclosed in the trough 32a, a transport motor 32f connected to the transport screw 32f, (32i). The conveying screw 32f is constituted by a conveying shaft 32g and a conveying vane 32h. The conveying vane 32h is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the conveying shaft 32g in a spiral shape so that adjacent vanes are arranged at a predetermined interval.

The trough 32a is provided with an abrasive material supply port 32b on the upper surface of the rear portion (left side in Fig. 5) and an abrasive material discharge port 32e on the lower side of the front end (right side in Fig. In addition, the space inside the trough 32a is provided with an abrasive conveying portion 32c formed by the troughs 32a and the conveying screw 32f, and an abrasive discharge port 32e located in front of the conveying screw 32f And an abrasive discharge portion 32d.

The storage tank 31 is a container for temporarily storing the abrasive. The storage tank 31 has a straight body portion having the same transverse sectional shape toward the lower portion, a reduced portion connected to the lower end of the straight body portion and having a reduced cross- Respectively. The shape of the cross section of the straight body portion may be circular or polygonal. In the present embodiment, a square is used. The lower end of the reduction portion is connected to the abrasive material supply port 32b where the base portion of the transport unit 32 is exposed.

The rear end of the transport shaft 32g passes through the rear end of the trough 32a and is connected to a transport motor 32i which is rotatable at an arbitrary speed. By operating the conveying motor 32i at an arbitrary speed, the conveying screw 32f is rotated. The abrasive charged into the trough 32a from the abrasive supply port 32b is advanced at a constant speed in the right direction in Fig. 5 by the rotation of the transport screw 32f. That is, the target amount of abrasive can be advanced at a constant speed.

The abrasive material that has passed through the abrasive article conveyance portion 32c enters the abrasive material discharge portion 32d and continues to advance further. A regulating plate 32j is disposed at the tip of the conveying screw 32f. The regulating plate 32j may be fixed to the front end of the carrying shaft 32g and the peripheral edge of the regulating plate 32j may be fixed to the inner wall of the trough 32a. The regulating plate 32j is provided with a disengagement portion (not shown) through which the abrasive material passes. Since the abrasive is compressed by the regulating plate 32j, the air between the abrasive members is deaerated and the bulk specific gravity can be increased. Since the shredding portion is opened in the regulating plate 32j, the abrasive which has reached a predetermined density in front of the regulating plate 32j and becomes a large mass is shredded when passing through the shredding portion, and continues to advance. Then, the abrasive is discharged to the outside of the abrasive material charging unit 30 from the abrasive material discharge port 32e. As described above, by the action of the regulating plate 32j, the fluctuation of the volume specific gravity due to the inclusion of the gas between the abrasives in the stock tank 31 is not affected by the fluctuation of the conveying speed of the conveying screw 32f It is possible to send the abrasive material to the abrasive material discharge port 32e by a predetermined amount without any influence. The " shrinkable portion " may be such that the large abrasive material can be shredded and passed therethrough. For example, Holes of arbitrary shape may be provided, or grooves may be provided in the peripheral edge portion of the regulating plate 32j.

The crushing portion may be a gap formed by the regulating plate 32j fixed to the tip of the conveying shaft 32g and the inner wall of the trough 32a. The abrasive material which has reached a predetermined density in front of the regulating plate 32j is crushed when passing through the gap which is the crushing portion and continues to advance. Then, the abrasive is discharged to the outside of the abrasive material charging unit 30 from the abrasive material discharge port 32e. The shredding section may be formed by combining the hole in the surface provided in the regulating plate 32j, the groove in the peripheral edge portion, and the gap between the regulating plate 32j and the inner wall of the trough 32a.

The abrasive material discharged from the abrasive material discharge port 32e falls toward the workpiece W loaded into the processing vessel 10. At this time, in order to induce the abrasive material to fall down toward the workpiece W without scattering, it is also possible to connect the abrasive material supply member 33 having both ends opened to the abrasive material discharge port 32e.

In this embodiment, the abrasive material is advanced by rotation of the transport screw 32f. Alternatively, the abrasive material may be advanced by rotation of the belt placed on the front and rear sides. Alternatively, .

The suction unit 40 includes a suction member 41 whose one end face is disposed so as to provide a gap with the bottom face portion 12 of the machining vessel 10, a dust collecting device 42 for generating a suction force, And a hose 43 connecting the suction member 41 and the dust collecting device 42. The suction member 41 is provided with a cylindrical rectifying section 41a having both ends open and having the same transverse section continuously and connected to one end surface of the rectifying section 41a and being moved away from the rectifying section 41a And a suction portion 41b in the form of a cone having a reduced cross-sectional area. A hose 43 is connected to an end portion of a reduced diameter portion of the suction portion 41b and the other end of the hose 43 is connected to a dust collecting device 42 capable of suctioning and recovering the abrasive material. Thus, the suction member 41 and the dust collecting device 42 are connected to each other.

The suction unit 40 generates an air flow directed in the direction in which the abrasive material passes through the bottom face portion 12 of the processing container 10, that is, the abrasive material introduction member 33 toward the suction member 41. The rectifying portion 41a of the suction member 41 functions to rectify the airflow so that the airflow generated when the airflow sucking does not flow back toward the outside but flows toward the dust collecting device 42. [ The suction portion 41b plays a role of accelerating the airflow so that the airflow passing through the rectifying portion 41a flows efficiently into the dust collecting device 42. [ If the abrasive can be sucked without being scattered to the outside of the suction member 41 only by the suction portion 41b, the rectifying portion 41a may not be provided.

The suction member 41 can be sucked from the entire surface of the bottom surface portion 12 by making the size of the opening end portion (the other end side of the shaft end portion) larger than the bottom surface portion 12 of the processing container 10 Or may be configured to be smaller than the bottom surface portion 12 and to be sucked from a portion of the bottom surface portion 12. [ It is also possible to dispose the opening end of the suction member 41 so as to provide a gap between the opening end of the suction member 41 and the bottom surface portion 12 of the processing container 10. The size of the opening end of the suction member 41 is made smaller than that of the bottom surface portion 12 of the processing container so as to be sucked from a part of the bottom surface portion 12, The abrasive input unit 30 is disposed so that the abrasive can be introduced into the abrasive. Further, if the abrasive material can be sucked without being scattered to the outside by only the hose 43, the suction member 41 may not be provided.

6, when the dust collecting device 42 is operated, the abrasive material is sucked through the bottom face portion 12 and sucked in the suction face of the suction member 41 at a position facing the opening end of the suction member 41 in the bottom face portion 12 An abrasive suction portion B to be sucked by the member 41 is formed. That is, the abrasive sucking portion B is a region through which the abrasive material passes in the bottom face portion 12. The area of the abrasive sucking portion B may be 10% or more and 40% or less of the area of the bottom surface portion 12 of the processing container 10. [ In one embodiment, the area of the abrasive suction portion B may be 1/8 or more and 1/4 or less of the area of the bottom portion 12. If the area of the abrasive sucking portion B is too large, the unnecessary workpiece W is fixed to the bottom portion 12, so that the stirring of the workpiece W becomes insufficient. If the area is too small, the abrasive can not be sucked sufficiently . In the example shown in Fig. 6, the shape of the abrasive suction portion B is circular, but the shape of the abrasive suction portion B is not limited to a circle. For example, the shape of the abrasive suction portion B may be a polygonal shape or a sector shape along the edge portion of the bottom portion 12, or a part of the outer periphery may have a sector shape along the edge portion of the bottom portion 12. The shape of the abrasive suction portion B can be changed to a desired shape by changing the planar shape of the opening end of the suction member 41. [

In one embodiment, the suction speed passing through the abrasive sucking portion B may be 5 m / sec or more and less than 100 m / sec, or may be 5 m / sec or more and less than 50 m / sec, or 5 m / I do not mind. If the sucking speed is too low, the force to suck the abrasive charged from the abrasive insert unit 30 into the sucking unit 40 is weak, so that the abrasive can not be sucked sufficiently. The workpiece W loaded in the processing vessel 10 is fixed to the bottom face portion 12 by the suction force of the dust collecting apparatus 42 and the flow of the workpiece W is hindered.

In addition, it is necessary to adjust the passage speed at which the abrasive passes between the workpieces W loaded in the processing vessel 10 to 5 m / sec or more and less than 100 m / sec. The passing speed may be 5 m / sec or more and less than 50 m / sec, more specifically, 5 m / sec or more and less than 30 m / sec. If the passing speed is too low, the abrasive material is weak in the force of collision or contact with the workpiece W, so that the workpiece W can not be polished. If the passing speed is too high, the abrasive material has a strong force of collision or contact with the workpiece W, so that cracks and chipping tend to occur in the workpiece W during polishing. The passing speed may be adjusted by adjusting the distance between the abrasive material charging unit 30 and the machining vessel 10 and may be adjusted by adjusting the suction force of the dust collecting device 42. [

6, the position of the abrasive suction portion B is set so that the position of the abrasive suction portion B in the lower end portion direction of the bottom portion 12 of the processing container 10 (the lower end direction in Fig. 6 (The imaginary line L extending from the center of the bottom face portion 12 to the imaginary line extending from the center of the bottom face portion 12 along the inclined direction of the bottom face portion 12) The center of the abrasive suction unit B may be set at a position spaced apart by an angle?. This is because when the processing vessel 10 rotates, the workpiece W follows the rotation as shown by the dotted line in Fig. 6 and moves in the rotation direction. The angle [alpha] may be selected from more than 0 DEG and less than 45 DEG. If the angle? Is too large, the workpiece W can not be agitated efficiently.

Another embodiment in which the abrasive suction portion B is formed only on a part of the bottom surface portion 12 of the processing container 10 includes a plate portion provided with an opening portion such as a slit on the back surface side of the bottom portion portion 12, A gap may be provided and arranged. In this case, the size of the opening end of the suction member 41 can be made slightly larger than the bottom surface portion 12 of the processing container 10. With this configuration, since the suction can be performed from the front surface of the processing container 10, scattering of the abrasive can be further prevented. As a result, deterioration of the working environment can be further reduced.

When the dust collecting device 42 is operated, the suction member 41 is sucked through the hose 43, so that the abrasive material that has passed through the processing container 10 is sucked toward the suction member 41. At this time, since the air flow from the outside to the inside is generated in the vicinity of the opening end of the suction member 41, the abrasive that has passed through the processing vessel 10 does not scatter to the outside of the suction member 41. However, if the clearance between the processing container 10 and the opening end of the suction member 41 is too small, the outside air can not be sucked sufficiently, so that no airflow is generated from the outside of the suction member 41 toward the inside. If the gap is too large, airflow directed from the outside of the suction member 41 toward the inside is not generated due to the pressure loss. Therefore, even if the gap is too large, the abrasive material that has passed through the processing container 10 may be scattered to the outside of the suction member 41. The gap between the processing container 10 and the suction member 41 when the processing container 10 closest to the suction member 41 may be in a range of 1 mm or more and 25 mm or less and more specifically 5 mm or more and 15 mm or less Maybe.

The abrasive recovered by the dust collecting device 42 includes abrasives that are cracked or cracked due to contact with the workpiece W in addition to abrasive materials that can be used again and fine particles called abrasive residues of the workpiece W . In order to recover the abrasive material usable again from the abrasive material and the fine particles, a classifying unit may be further provided. The abrasive material that can be used again by the classification unit is separated into fine particles and the abrasive material that can be used again can be returned to the storage tank 31. [ The classifying unit may be provided in the middle (middle) of the path from the suction member 41 to the dust collecting device 42, or may be provided in a separate path. The classifying unit may include a known apparatus such as an airflow classifying apparatus or a sieve.

A flow control unit (not shown) for controlling (changing) the flow state of the workpiece W in the processing vessel 10 may be further used. As the flow control unit, for example, a unit for arbitrarily changing the tilt angle [theta] of the machining vessel 10, or a unit for arbitrarily changing the rotation speed of the motor 22 can be given. As the polishing progresses, the flow state of the workpiece W can be changed by changing the angle or the velocity. Thus, the workpiece W can be flowed under conditions matching the properties, properties, and conditions of all the workpieces W. In addition, when the workpiece W is susceptible to chipping or cracking, chipping and cracking of the workpiece W at the start of the flow can be prevented.

Next, an example of a polishing method by the polishing apparatus of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, a description will be given of a polishing method when performing rounding of corners of ceramics (dimension: 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm x 1.0 mm) composed of a mixture of SiC and Al ₂ O ₃ as the workpiece W Explain.

(Step 1: preparation process)

An abrasive is charged into the storage tank 31 shown in Fig. 1 in advance. The size of the abrasive charged at this time is smaller than the diameter of the opening 13 of the processing container 10 or the mesh size when the opening 13 is a mesh. So that the abrasive can pass through the opening 13 provided in the processing vessel 10 at the time of polishing. The polishing conditions are input to a motor 22, a conveying motor 32i and a control unit (not shown) for controlling the dust collecting apparatus 42 at arbitrary positions of the polishing apparatus 1 . The term "polishing conditions" used herein refers to a polishing time, an operating condition of the motor 22, a feeding rate of an abrasive (an amount of feeding per unit time), an operation pattern, and the like.

The abrasive can be formed from various particles such as a shot or a metal or a nonmetal shot, a grid, a cut wire, a ceramics-based particle, a plant-based particle, a resin (resin) And the processing purpose. For example, when the workpiece is subjected to a large rounding or a strong burr is removed, alumina-based particles, silicon carbide-based particles, zirconium oxide-based particles, etc., which are high-hardness particles, can be selected. In the case where it is not desired to adhere the abrasive-derived foreign matter to the workpiece, particles of the same material as the workpiece may be used as the abrasive. In this case, for example, in the case of polishing an electronic component formed of a magnetic material, foreign matter does not adhere to the surface of the workpiece after polishing by using a magnetic material of the same material as the workpiece as the abrasive. As a result, deterioration of the performance of the electronic component due to foreign matter can be prevented.

The shape of the abrasive is not particularly limited, such as a spherical shape, a cylindrical shape, a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and an anisotropic shape, and can be appropriately selected in accordance with the material and shape of the workpiece and the purpose of grinding.

The particle diameter of the abrasive can be appropriately selected in accordance with the material and shape of the workpiece and the purpose of the abrasion. For example, when ceramics-based particles are used as abrasives, the particle size defined by JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards) B6001 can be appropriately selected from the range of F220 or # 240 to # 1000.

The abrasive of the present embodiment used anisotropic alumina-based particles having a particle size of # 800.

(Process 2: Process of charging a workpiece)

Next, the workpiece W is charged into the machining vessel 10. Thereafter, the processing vessel 10 is fixed to the holder 21 with bolts or the like.

(Process 3: air flow generation process)

Next, when an operation switch (not shown) provided in the control unit is operated, the dust collecting device 42 operates to generate an air current sucking the sucking member 41 in the vicinity of the abrasive sucking portion B. Here, the dust collecting device 42 can adjust the suction force by the dust collecting device 42 so that the passing speed at which the abrasive material passes between the workpieces W loaded in the processing vessel 10 is within the tactical range. In addition, the distance between the processing vessel 10 and the abrasive material charging unit 30 can be adjusted.

(Step 4: fluidization step)

The workpiece W in the machining vessel 10 flows and agitates as shown in Fig. 4 when the motor 22 is operated and the holder 21, that is, the machining vessel 10 is rotated. Here, the rotational speed of the processing vessel 10 can be set to 5% or more and 50% or less, more specifically 10% or more and 30% or less of the critical rotational speed, as described above.

(Step 5: abrasive input step)

Next, the carrying motor 32i of the abrasive material charging unit 30 is operated so that the abrasive material is charged (dropped) toward the workpiece W charged into the machining vessel 10 from the abrasive material discharge port 32e at a constant speed, do.

(Step 6: Polishing step)

In the machining vessel 10, an air current attracting toward the suction member 41 is generated in the gap between the workpieces W that are flowing. The abrasive charged into the processing vessel 10 passes through the gap between the workpieces W by the air flow and is directed toward the suction member 41. [ At this time, since the abrasive and the workpiece W are mutually abraded, the workpiece W is abraded. Since the workpiece W flows in the machining vessel 10 as shown in Fig. 4, there is no variation in the accuracy of completion of every workpiece W, and all the workpieces W are uniformly polished . The polishing apparatus of the present embodiment does not emit the abrasive material to the workpiece W as the upstream of the pumice with the compressed air as in the air blast apparatus. Therefore, even if the workpiece W is small and lightweight, It is possible to polish it.

(Step 7: Abrasive material recovery process)

The abrasive material that has passed through the processing vessel 10 is directed toward the suction member 41 by an air current sucked toward the dust collecting device 42. Since a small clearance is formed between the processing container 10 and the suction member 41, an air flow from the outside of the suction member 41 toward the inside is generated by sucking the outside air. Therefore, the abrasive material that has passed through the processing vessel 10 does not scatter to the outside, but faces the suction member 41 all.

The abrasive material in the suction member 41 passes through the hose 43 and is collected in the dust collecting device 42.

In the above process, the workpiece W can be polished.

When the polishing time input to the control unit is completed, the abrasive material charging unit 30 is automatically stopped, and the supply of the abrasive material is stopped. At this time, since the motor 22 and the dust collecting device 42 continue to operate, the abrasive material remaining in the processing container 10 is collected in the dust collecting device 42. [ After a predetermined time has elapsed, the motor 22 is stopped, and then the dust collecting device 42 is stopped.

The processing vessel 10 is separated from the holder 21 and the workpiece W is recovered to complete polishing.

By using the above-described polishing method, rounding (R processing) of the workpiece W can be performed.

Next, the results of polishing the workpiece using the polishing apparatus of the first embodiment will be described. Here, polishing was carried out for the purpose of rounding the corners of the workpiece to evaluate fluidity (flow state), evaluation of the workpiece after polishing, and evaluation of the environment after polishing.

(Evaluation of securitization)

First, evaluation of fluidization is described. The workpiece W was a raw material of ceramics (a product before sintering) composed of a mixture of SiC and Al ₂ O ₃ . The dimensions of the workpiece W were 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm x 1.0 mm. Half of the workpieces W were painted black with an oil paint.

Next, the workpiece W is charged into the machining vessel 10 so as to be about 1/5 of the volume of the machining vessel 10. The workpiece (W) was charged so that the uncoated product and the painted article were 1: 1.

Next, after the dust collector 42 is operated, the machining vessel 10 is rotated for 30 minutes to fluidize the work W. Conditions of the fluidization (stirring) were as shown in Table 1. The evaluation conditions in Table 1 indicate the following.

Tilt angle (deg.); The inclination angle? With respect to the horizontal plane of the processing vessel 10

Number of revolutions (%); The number of revolutions / critical revolution number of the processing container 10 × 100

area ; The area of the abrasive sucking portion B / the area of the bottom portion 12 of the processing container 10

Suction rate (mm / s); The wind speed of the suction in the abrasive sucking portion (B)

Location (deg.); A phase angle? In the rotational direction of the processing container 10 from the imaginary line is set with reference to a virtual line extending from the center of the bottom face portion 12 toward the bottom end of the bottom face portion 12,

Presence or absence of the airflow control member 50; It is judged whether or not the air flow control member 50 of 1/3 of the diameter of the bottom face portion is disposed on the back face of the bottom face portion 12 of the processing vessel 10

After the lapse of 30 minutes, the operation of the processing vessel 10 and the dust collecting device 42 is stopped. After the operation was stopped, 100 pieces of the workpiece W were collected at the above-mentioned phase angles of 0 °, -10 °, and 10 °, respectively, and the number of uncoated parts was counted. This operation was performed three times, and the flow state of the workpiece W was evaluated by calculating an average value of the three points and three times. The evaluation criteria are as follows.

◎ ... The number of unmarked items is 45 to 55

○ ... The number of unmarked items is 40 to 44 or 56 to 60

△ ... The number of unmarked items is 30 to 39 or 61 to 70

× ... The number of unmarked items is 29 or less or 71 or more

The evaluation of fluidization is summarized in Table 1. In Examples 1-1 to 1-20, the work W was agitated without arranging the air flow control member 50. As a result, the evaluation was "?" Or "?" Under any of the conditions. The evaluation of "?" It is confirmed by experiment. And the evaluation is "O" by optimizing other conditions. Therefore, it was confirmed that the workpiece W can be agitated well under the conditions shown in Table 1. In Examples 1-4, evaluation was " Good " in qualitative evaluation, but in Quantitative Evaluation, it was slightly lower than in Examples 1-3. Likewise, Example 1-9 was slightly lower in quantitative evaluation than Example 1-10.

In the case where the air flow control member 50 is disposed on the back surface of the bottom surface portion 12 of the processing vessel 10 (Example 1-20), the evaluation is "⊚", and more uniform stirring .

(Evaluation of the workpiece after polishing and evaluation of the environment after polishing)

Next, the evaluation of the workpiece after polishing and the evaluation of the environment after polishing will be described. The abrasive grains of alumina quality (WA # 800; manufactured by Shinto Kogyo Co., Ltd.) were fed from the abrasive input unit 30 at a feeding rate of 20 g / min (min) Will be described. In the present evaluation, evaluation was performed with six types of workpieces. The details of the workpiece are shown below.

(Workpiece A): raw material of ceramics (dimension: 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm x 1.0 mm) composed of a mixture of SiC and Al ₂ O ₃ ,

Workpiece B: raw material of ceramics (dimension: 0.15 mm x 0.15 mm x 0.20 mm) composed of a mixture of SiC and Al ₂ O ₃

Workpiece C: raw material of ceramics (dimension: 1.0 mm x 1.0 mm x 1.5 mm) composed of a mixture of SiC and Al _{2 O} 3,

Workpiece D: Ferrite (dimensions: 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm x 1.0 mm)

Workpiece E: glass (dimension: 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm x 1.0 mm)

Workpiece F: Copper (dimension: 0.5 mm x 0.5 mm x 1.0 mm)

The workpiece is charged into the processing vessel 10 so as to be about 1/5 of the volume of the processing vessel 10. After the dust collector 42 is operated, the machining vessel 10 is rotated for 30 minutes to fluidize the workpiece. The conditions of the fluidization (stirring) were as shown in Table 2. For each evaluation condition in Table 2, the inclination angle, the number of revolutions, the area, the position, and the presence or absence of the fluid control member are the same as those of the evaluation conditions described by the evaluation of fluidization. The passing speed, which is different from the evaluation of fluidization, is described below.

(Mm / s); the speed at which the abrasive passes between the workpieces charged into the processing vessel (10).

The passing speed was evaluated by measuring the fluid velocity of the abrasive material by a flow velocity measuring system (Flow Tech Research Co., Ltd., PIV system). Specifically, the speed of the portion of the abrasive fed from the abrasive insert unit 30 immediately before the abrasive contacted the workpiece W was measured, and this value was set as the passing speed.

Next, the conveying motor 32i was operated so that alumina abrasive grains (WA # 800; manufactured by Shinto Kogyo Co., Ltd.) were charged into the holding tank 31 and the charging rate of the abrasive was set at 20 g / min. The processing vessel 10 and the dust collector 42 were operated to perform polishing for 30 minutes.

The workpiece after polishing was evaluated. Specifically, "machining precision", "surface condition" and "abrasive residue" were evaluated. The respective evaluation methods and evaluation criteria are as follows.

<Machining Accuracy>

Ten pieces of the workpiece subjected to polishing under the respective conditions were collected and observed with a microscope (VHX-2000 manufactured by Keyence), and the rounding process of each part was evaluated. The criteria for evaluation of machining accuracy are as follows.

○ ... In all the workpieces, rounding is performed.

△ ... There are one to three workpieces that have not been rounded.

× ... There are four or more workpieces that are not rounded.

<Surface state>

Ten pieces of each of the workpieces W subjected to polishing under the respective conditions were sampled and observed with a microscope (VHX-2000 made by KYENCE), and the surface state of the workpiece (presence of cracks, chippings, flaws) I appreciated. The evaluation criteria of the surface condition are as follows.

○ ... In all the workpieces, no cracks or chipping are observed.

△ ... There are 1 to 3 workpieces with cracks or chipping.

× ... There are four or more workpieces in which cracks or chipping are present.

<Residue of abrasive material>

With respect to the workpiece after polishing performed by polishing under the respective conditions, the workpiece after polishing and the attachment adhered to the workpiece are separated by sieving using an ultrasonic vibrator. The mesh size (mesh diameter) of the sieve used for sieving is set so that only the deposit does not pass through the workpiece after polishing. Thereafter, the weight of the workpiece and the attachment after removal of the deposit is measured, respectively. The residual rate of the abrasive was calculated as "(weight of the attachment) / (weight of the workpiece after removal of the attachment) × 100 (%)" to evaluate the residual amount of the abrasive. .

○ ... The residual rate of the abrasive is less than 1%.

△ ... The residual rate of the abrasive is 1% or more and less than 3%.

× ... The residual rate of the abrasive is 3% or more.

In addition, the environment after polishing was evaluated. Specifically, evaluation of "scattering of abrasive" was performed. The evaluation method and evaluation criteria are as follows.

<Shattering of abrasives>

The abrasion of each abrasive was evaluated in order to investigate the degree (degree) of the abrasive scattered in the polishing step with respect to the periphery of the abrading device 1 after the polishing was performed under the respective conditions. Quot; of &quot; scattering &quot; is as follows.

○ ... After the polishing, the abrasive is not visually observed outside the processing vessel 10.

× ... After polishing, an abrasive material is observed outside the processing vessel 10 with naked eyes.

The evaluation of the workpiece after polishing and the evaluation of the environment after polishing are summarized in Table 2. In Examples 2-1 to 2-21, the work A was polished. As a result, the evaluation was &quot;? &Quot; or &quot;? &Quot; The quality of the workpiece evaluated as &quot;? &Quot; is such a quality that there is no problem as a product. In addition, the quality is such that the evaluation is "O" by optimizing other conditions. It can be confirmed that there is a difference between the results of the processing precision, the surface condition and the residual abrasive for each example. However, although there are differences in the results, the quality of the workpiece is satisfactory in any of the conditions of Examples 2-1 to 2-21. Therefore, it can be confirmed that the workpiece A can be satisfactorily polished in the examples of Table 2.

In Examples 2-22 and 2-23, the dimensions of the workpiece were changed, and the workpiece was evaluated under the same evaluation conditions as in Example 2-21. As a result of this evaluation, it was confirmed that regardless of the size of the workpiece, the workpiece can be polished satisfactorily. In Examples 2-24 to 2-26, the material of the workpiece was changed and the workpiece was evaluated under the same evaluation conditions as in Example 2-21. As a result of the evaluation, it was confirmed that any of ferrite, glass, and metal (copper) can be polished satisfactorily.

In Examples 2-1 to 2-26, the evaluation of the scattering of the abrasive was carried out together with the evaluation of the workpiece. Since the scattering of the visible abrasive material can not be confirmed, the abrasive material injected from the abrasive material charging unit 30 can be applied to any of the examples by polishing the workpiece in the processing vessel 10, And it is confirmed that the dust is collected in the dust collecting device 42 without performing any operation.

(Second Embodiment)

Next, as an example of another type of polishing apparatus, a polishing apparatus having a vibration unit as a fluidizing unit will be described as a second embodiment. In the following description, only the points of change from the first embodiment will be described.

7 (A), the polishing apparatus 101 of the present embodiment includes a processing vessel 110, a vibration unit 120 as a fluidization unit, an abrasive material input unit 130, a suction unit 140, .

The processing vessel 110 has the same configuration as the processing vessel 10 described in the first embodiment.

The vibrating unit 120 is constituted by a holder 121 for holding the machining vessel 110, a vibrating force generating unit 122 and a mount 123. The holder 121 is in the shape of a cylinder whose bottom face is closed and a flange is provided at the bottom. The bottom portion is provided with an opening through which a suction member 141 to be described later can be charged.

The vibration power generating unit 122 includes a rotary shaft 122a rotatably held at the center of the bottom of the holder 121 and a first weight 122b and a second weight 122b held by the rotary shaft 122a, A rotation transmitting member 122e for transmitting the rotation of the motor 122d to the rotation shaft 122a and a rotation transmitting member 122e for rotating the holder 121 to the base 123, And a connecting member 122f for connecting the connecting member 122f.

The first weight 122b and the second weight 122c are rectangular or fan-shaped members. An opening capable of fitting the rotation shaft 122a is formed in the vicinity of one end, 122a are inserted and fixed by bolts or the like. The rotating shaft 122a is eccentric by the first weight 122b and the second weight 122c so that vibration is applied to the holder 121 or the machining vessel 110 when the rotating shaft 122a rotates. At this time, the flow state of the workpiece W can be adjusted by adjusting the phase difference? Of the second weight 122c with respect to the first weight 122b shown in FIG. 7 (B). When the workpiece W is fluidized by the vibration unit 120, a flow Y in the circumferential direction, a flow X moving along the circumference and a flow Z moving in the vertical direction are combined as shown in Fig. 8 Flow. When the phase difference? Is small, the flow Y toward the circumferential direction is directed linearly in the circumferential direction. If the phase difference beta is too large, the flow Y toward the circumferential direction becomes a flow toward the bottom center. In order to more uniformly stir the workpiece, for example, the retardation? May be 30 ° or more and 75 ° or less, preferably 45 ° or more and 60 ° or less.

The rotation transmitting member 122e is constituted by a pulley fixed to the rotating shaft of the rotating shaft 122a and the motor 122d, respectively, and a belt laid over the pulleys. With this configuration, the rotation of the motor 122d can be transmitted to the rotation shaft 122a.

The holder 121 to which the vibration power generating unit 122 is connected is connected to the upper portion of the stand 123 via the connecting member 122f. The connecting member 122f is not limited as long as it can oscillate the holder 121, and for example, a spring or rubber can be used. In the present embodiment, a spring is used. A plurality of protrusions (eight protrusions in this embodiment) capable of fixing one end of the spring are provided at opposed positions of the flange portion of the holder 121 and the mount 123, Is oscillatably connected to the table 123.

In order to promote the flow in the direction of flow Z moving in the vertical direction in Fig. 8, a stirring promoting member (not shown) is charged between the bottom surface portion 112 of the processing container 110 and the holder 121 I do not mind. For example, a plurality of balls made of rubber are charged as the stirring promoting member, so that when the holder 121 is vibrated, the back surface of the bottom surface portion 112 of the processing vessel 110 is sharply lowered by the stirring promoting member, The flow in the direction of the flow Z is moved.

The abrasive material charging unit 130 uses the same structure as the abrasive material charging unit 30 described in the first embodiment.

The suction unit 140 includes a suction member 141 whose one end faces the bottom face portion 112 of the processing container 110 so as to provide a gap therebetween, a dust collecting device 142 that generates a suction force, 141 and a hose 143 for connecting the dust collector 142 to each other. The suction member 141 is connected to one end surface of the rectifying section 141a and has a cross sectional area as the rectifying section 141a moves away from the rectifying section 141a And a conical suction portion 141b to be contracted. A hose 143 is connected to the end of the diameter of the suction portion 141b and the other end of the hose 143 is connected to a dust collecting device 142 capable of sucking and recovering the abrasive. As a result, the suction member 141 and the dust collecting device 142 are connected to each other.

The rectification part 141a of the suction member 141 functions to rectify the airflow so as to flow toward the dust collecting device 142 without flowing backward the airflow generated when the airflow sucking is performed toward the opening end of the rectification part 141a. The suction portion 141b serves to accelerate the airflow so that the airflow passing through the rectification portion 141a flows efficiently into the dust collecting device 142. [ If the abrasive can be sucked without being scattered to the outside of the suction member 141 only by the suction portion 141b, the rectification portion 141a may not be provided.

The suction member 141 is configured such that the size of the opening end portion (the other end side of the shaft end portion) is made slightly larger than the bottom face portion 112 of the processing container 110 so as to be sucked from the front face of the bottom face portion 112 Or may be made smaller than the bottom face portion 112 and sucked from a part of the bottom face portion 112. [ The opening end of the suction member 141 can be disposed so as to provide a gap between the opening end of the suction member 141 and the bottom surface portion 112 of the processing container 110. [ In this embodiment, the size of the opening end portion is made smaller than the bottom face portion 112 of the processing container so as to be sucked from a part of the bottom portion 112, and the abrasive material can be inserted at the opposed positions of the opening end portions And an abrasive material charging unit 130 is disposed. If the hose 143 can suction the abrasive without scattering it to the outside, the suction member 141 may not be provided.

When the dust collector 142 is operated, an abrasive suction portion B is formed at a position opposite to the opening end of the suction member 141 of the bottom portion 112, through which the abrasive material is sucked. The size of the abrasive sucking portion B may be 10% or more and 40% or less of the area of the bottom portion 112 of the processing container 110. [ If the area of the abrasive sucking portion B is too large, the unnecessary workpiece W is fixed to the bottom portion 12, so that the stirring of the workpiece W becomes insufficient. If the area is too small, none.

When the dust collecting apparatus 142 is operated, an air flow is generated from the suction member 141 toward the dust collecting apparatus 142, so that the abrasive having passed through the processing vessel 110 is sucked toward the suction member 141. At this time, air currents from the outside to the inside are generated in the vicinity of the opening end of the suction member 141, so that the abrasive having passed through the processing vessel 110 is prevented from scattering to the outside of the suction member 141. However, if the clearance between the processing container 110 and the opening end of the suction member 141 is too small, the outside air can not be sucked sufficiently, so that no air flow from the outside of the suction member 141 toward the inside is generated. If the gap is too large, airflow directed from the outside of the suction member 141 toward the inside is not generated due to the pressure loss. Therefore, even if the gap is too large, the abrasive having passed through the processing container 110 may be scattered to the outside of the suction member 141. The clearance between the processing container 110 and the suction member 141 when the processing container 110 is closest to the suction member 141 can be set in a range of 1 mm or more and 25 mm or less and more specifically 5 mm or more and 15 mm or less .

The abrasive recovered by the dust collecting apparatus 142 includes abrasives which are cracked or cracked due to contact with the workpiece W in addition to abrasive materials that can be used again and fine particles called abrasive residues of the workpiece W . In order to recover the abrasive material usable again from the abrasive material and the fine particles, a classifying unit may be further provided. The abrasive material that can be used again by the classification unit is separated into fine particles and the abrasive material that can be used again can be returned to the storage tank 131. [ The classifying unit may be provided in the middle of the path from the suction member 141 to the dust collecting device 142, or may be provided in a separate path. The classifying unit may include a known apparatus such as an airflow classifying apparatus or a sieve.

A flow control unit (not shown) for controlling the flow state of the workpiece W in the processing vessel 110 may be further used. As the flow control unit, for example, a unit for arbitrarily changing the rotational speed of the motor 122d can be mentioned. As the polishing progresses, the flow state of the workpiece W can be changed by changing the angle or the velocity. As a result, it is possible to flow under conditions suitable for the properties of all the workpiece W and the like. In addition, when the workpiece W is susceptible to chipping or cracking, chipping and cracking of the workpiece W at the start of the flow can be prevented.

(Third Embodiment)

Next, the polishing apparatus and the polishing method according to the third embodiment will be described. In the polishing apparatus and the polishing method according to the present embodiment, the workpiece is continuously polished. Note that, in the following description, mainly the points of change of the polishing apparatus and the polishing method of the first embodiment will be described.

The polishing apparatus 201 according to the third embodiment is shown in Figs. 9 and 10. Fig. Fig. 9 is a plan view of the polishing apparatus 201, and Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X-X of the polishing apparatus 201 shown in Fig. In the following description, the width direction of the processing container 210 is defined as the x direction, the length direction of the processing container 210 is defined as the y direction, and the direction orthogonal to the x direction and the y direction is defined as the z direction. The polishing apparatus 201 includes a machining vessel 210, a vibration advancing unit 220, a connecting member 222, and a mount 223.

As shown in Fig. 9, the processing container 210 has a substantially box-like shape having a substantially rectangular shape whose planar shape is longer than the x-direction in the y-direction. The processing vessel 210 has a bottom face portion 212 and a wall portion 211. [ In the example shown in Fig. 9, the bottom surface portion 212 includes wires arranged in a net shape, and the region surrounded by the wires constitutes the opening portion 213. [ The width of the opening 213 is larger than the particle diameter of the abrasive material and smaller than the width of the workpiece W. [ Thereby, the bottom face portion 212 can pass the abrasive material and allow the workpiece to stay thereon. The wall portion 211 is provided standing up along the edge portion of the bottom surface portion 212 and forms a space on the bottom surface portion 212 from the side portion. A discharge portion 214 not provided with the wall portion 211 is formed at one end side (the right side edge portion in Fig. 9) of the processing container 210 on the y direction side. The discharge portion 214 is used to discharge the workpiece W in the processing container 210 to the outside.

As shown in Fig. 10, the processing container 210 is supported by the base 223 in a vibratable manner via a connecting member 222. As shown in Fig. The connecting member 222 may be composed of, for example, a spring, rubber, or the like.

The vibration advancing unit 220 is provided on the back face of the bottom face portion 212, that is, the lower portion. The vibration advancing unit 220 imparts vibration to the processing vessel 210 to fluidize the processing object W in the processing vessel 210 and to transfer the processing object W loaded into the processing vessel 210 ) Toward the discharge portion 214. [ As the vibration advancing unit 220, for example, an eccentric motor can be used.

A workpiece charging unit 260 is provided on the upper side of the other end side (left side in Fig. 9) of the processing vessel 210 on the y direction side. The workpiece W charging unit 260 continuously or intermittently charges the workpiece W into the machining vessel 210. The continuous charging of the workpiece W means that a predetermined amount of the workpiece W is continuously charged into the processing vessel 210. [ On the other hand, intermittently charging means that a predetermined amount of the workpiece W is charged into the processing vessel 210 at intervals. As the workpiece charging unit 260, a known mechanism such as a vibrating feeder, a belt conveyor, a bucket conveyor, or the like can be used.

The polishing apparatus 201 further includes an abrasive material charging unit and a suction unit. 9 and 10, the illustration of the abrasive material charging unit and the suction unit is omitted for convenience of explanation. As the abrasive material charging unit and the suction unit, those having the same constitution as the abrasive material charging unit 30 and the suction unit 40 shown in Fig. 1 can be used. The suction member of the suction unit is disposed on the back side of the bottom surface portion 212, that is, the lower side. The abrasive material charging unit is disposed on the surface side, that is, the upper side of the bottom surface portion 212.

Next, the polishing method according to the third embodiment will be described. In this polishing method, first, the vibration advancing unit 220, the suction unit, and the abrasive material throwing unit are operated. Next, the workpiece W is continuously or intermittently charged into the processing vessel 210 by the workpiece charging unit 260 (workpiece charging step). The workpiece W loaded into the machining vessel 210 flows in the machining vessel 210 by the vibration of the machining vessel 210. Along with this, the workpiece W in the processing vessel 210 moves from the other end on the y-direction side of the processing vessel 210 toward the discharge portion 214 (advancing fluidization step).

In the polishing method of the present embodiment, the abrasive material is introduced from the abrasive material charging unit toward the workpiece W in the processing container 210 (abrasive material charging step). In addition, an airflow is generated by the suction unit from the surface side of the bottom portion 212 toward the back side in the direction of passing through the processing container 210 (airflow generating step). Thereby, the abrasive suction portion B as shown in Fig. 6 is formed on the surface of the bottom portion 212. Fig. The workpiece W in the processing vessel 210 passes over the abrasive suction unit B in the process of advancing toward the discharge unit 214. [ At this time, the abrasive material fed from the abrasive material feeding unit is passed between the workpieces W by the airflow, and the workpieces W are polished by polishing the workpiece W (polishing step). The polishing amount of the workpiece W can be adjusted by adjusting the magnitude of the vibration imparted by the vibration advancing unit 220 and changing the speed at which the workpiece W passes through the abrasive suction unit B. [ The polished workpiece W having passed through the abrasive sucking portion B continues to advance further and is discharged from the discharge portion 214 to the outside of the machining vessel 210 to be recovered (workpiece collecting step). On the other hand, the abrasive material that has passed through the bottom face portion 212 is recovered by the suction unit (abrasive material recovery step). According to the polishing method according to the third embodiment, the workpiece W can be continuously polished.

[Industrial Availability]

In the embodiment, rounding of each part of a rectangular parallelepiped ceramic has been described as an example. However, the kind of the workpiece and the processing purpose of the workpiece are not limited to these. The workpiece can be well polished, as well as various composite materials such as ceramics, silicon, ferrite, and crystal materials, as well as a hard and soft material having hard and soft properties. For the purpose of processing, adjustment of the surface roughness of the workpiece, burr removal, removal of the surface layer, and the like can be performed. For example, when the above-mentioned polishing method is applied to the removal of the surface layer of ceramics, adhesion of the surface layer to the coating film can be improved when a coating such as plating is formed in a subsequent step by removing the surface layer.

The polishing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention can be particularly preferably used for polishing small parts. For example, in the case where the workpiece is a component such as a multilayer ceramic capacitor or an inductor, it is preferable that a side is not only about 800 占 퐉 to 1600 占 퐉, but also for a very small size of about 100 占 퐉 to 200 占 퐉 Polishing can be performed.

Further, as long as the workpiece can flow in the processing vessel, not only a small workpiece but also a workpiece having a size larger than that can be polished. For example, a workpiece having a size of about 10 mm or more and 30 mm or less on one side can be satisfactorily polished.

1, 101 - Polishing apparatus 10, 110, 210 - Processing vessel
11 - wall portion 12, 112, 212 - bottom wall portion
13, 213 - opening 14 -
20 - rotating unit 21, 121 - holder
22 - motor 23 - rotation transmitting member
30, 130 - abrasive input unit 31, 131 - storage tank
32 - conveying unit 32a - trough
32b -Abrasive material supply port 32c -Abrasive material conveying part
32d - abrasive discharge portion 32e - abrasive discharge port
32f - conveying screw 32g - conveying shaft
32h - conveying blades 32i - conveying motor
32j - regulating plate 33 - abrasive material input member
40, 140 - Suction unit 41, 141 - Suction member
41a, 141a - rectifying part 41b, 141b -
42, 142 - Dust collecting device 43, 143 - Hose
50 - airflow control member 120 - vibration unit
122 - a vibration power generating unit 122a -
122b - first weight 122c - second weight
122d-motor 122e-rotation transmitting member
122f, 222 - connecting members 123, 223 -
214 - discharge part 220 - vibration advancing unit
260 - Workpiece charging unit B - abrasive suction unit
L - imaginary line T - rotation axis
W - workpiece

Claims (19)

A polishing apparatus for polishing a surface of a workpiece,
A machining vessel having a bottom portion through which the abrasive material can pass and for holding the workpiece on the bottom portion;
A fluidizing unit for flowing the workpiece in the processing vessel;
An abrasive material charging unit for charging the abrasive material toward the workpiece in the processing vessel,
And a suction unit for generating an air flow directed toward the direction in which the abrasive material passes through the processing container and for sucking and recovering the abrasive material. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the fluidizing unit is a vibrating unit for vibrating the machining vessel or a rotating unit for rotating the machining vessel with the center of its bottom face as an axis. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the fluidization unit further comprises a flow control unit for changing the flow state. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the fluidizing unit is the rotating unit,
Wherein the machining vessel is supported by the rotating unit so as to be inclined with respect to a horizontal plane. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the inclination angle of the processing container is not less than 30 DEG and not more than 70 DEG with respect to the horizontal plane. The method according to claim 1,
And an opening is provided in a bottom surface portion of the processing container. The method of claim 6,
Wherein the opening portion is formed in a mesh-like shape, and the mesh size of the opening portion is 70 占 퐉 or more and 1100 占 퐉 or less. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein an abrasive suction portion is formed in a part of a bottom portion of the processing container when the suction unit is sucked, the abrasive suction portion being sucked by the suction unit through the processing container. The method of claim 8,
Wherein an area of the abrasive suction portion is 1/8 or more and 1/4 or less of an area of a bottom portion of the processing container. The method of claim 8,
And the suction speed through the abrasive sucking portion is less than 5 m / sec and less than 100 m / sec. The method of claim 10,
Wherein a center of the abrasive suction portion is located at a predetermined angle away from the center of the bottom portion of the processing container toward the rotation direction of the processing container in the direction of the lower end of the peripheral portion. The method of claim 2,
And an airflow control member for controlling the flow of the airflow for passing the abrasive through the processing vessel is disposed at the center of the bottom surface of the processing vessel. The method according to claim 1,
The abrasive insert unit comprises:
A storage tank for storing the abrasive,
An abrasive material discharge port for discharging the abrasive material toward the workpiece,
And a transport unit for transporting the abrasive supplied from the storage tank toward the abrasive discharge port,
Wherein the transport unit includes a transport screw having a spiral blade on a rotating shaft and a transport screw, the abrasive discharge port is opened at a lower portion of a front end thereof, Wherein the abrasive supply port to be connected is provided with an opened trough,
Wherein the space in the trough is divided into a space defined by the transport screw and the trough and a space located in front of the transport screw and including the abrasive discharge port,
Wherein a regulating plate is provided between the tip of the conveying screw and the abrasive material discharge port and provided with a crushing portion through which the abrasive material can pass. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the workpiece is formed of a hard material. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the workpiece is a component of a multilayer ceramic capacitor or an inductor. A grinding material feeding unit for feeding the grinding material to the work piece in the grinding machine; and an abrasive grinding device for grinding the abrasive material, And a suction unit for sucking and collecting the polishing liquid,
A workpiece loading step for loading the workpiece into the machining vessel,
An air flow generating step of generating an air flow directed toward the direction in which the abrasive material passes through the processing container by the suction unit;
A fluidizing step of fluidizing the workpiece charged into the processing vessel by the fluidizing unit,
An abrasive material charging step for charging the abrasive material from the abrasive material charging unit toward the workpiece in the processing vessel;
A grinding step of grinding the workpiece by passing the abrasive material between the workpieces charged in the machining vessel;
And an abrasive material recovery step of recovering the abrasive material by the suction unit. A machining vessel having a bottom portion for passing an abrasive through which the workpiece stays and a discharge portion for discharging the workpiece to the outside; a fluidization unit for fluidizing the workpiece; A polishing method using a polishing apparatus comprising an abrasive material charging unit to be charged into a workpiece and a suction unit to suck and recover the abrasive material,
A workpiece charging step of charging the workpiece into the machining vessel continuously or intermittently;
An air flow generating step of generating an air flow directed toward the direction in which the abrasive material passes through the processing container by the suction unit;
A fluidization advance step of fluidizing the workpiece in the processing vessel by the fluidization unit and advancing the workpiece charged in the workpiece charging step toward the discharge part,
An abrasive material charging step of charging the abrasive material from the abrasive material charging unit toward the workpiece in the processing vessel,
A polishing step of passing the abrasive material between the workpieces in the processing vessel to polish the workpiece;
An abrasive material recovery step of recovering the abrasive material by the suction unit,
And a workpiece collecting step of collecting the workpiece discharged from the discharge portion. The method according to claim 16 or 17,
Wherein a passing speed at which the abrasive passes between the workpieces charged into the processing vessel is less than 5 m / sec and less than 100 m / sec. 18. The method of claim 16,
The fluidizing unit is a rotating unit that rotates the machining vessel about the center of the bottom portion thereof in the axial direction,
In the fluidizing step, the machining vessel is rotated by 5 to 50% of the critical rotation number by the rotation unit.

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